diff --git a/jetty-distribution/src/main/resources/bin/jetty.sh b/jetty-distribution/src/main/resources/bin/jetty.sh
index 21c2c979f4b..9dd1a49773c 100755
--- a/jetty-distribution/src/main/resources/bin/jetty.sh
+++ b/jetty-distribution/src/main/resources/bin/jetty.sh
@@ -527,6 +527,7 @@ case "$ACTION" in
 
   restart)
     JETTY_SH=$0
+    > "$JETTY_STATE"
     if [ ! -f $JETTY_SH ]; then
       if [ ! -f $JETTY_HOME/bin/jetty.sh ]; then
         echo "$JETTY_HOME/bin/jetty.sh does not exist."